Mia’s battle; Two year old battles stage 4 neuroblastoma

By KATIE HANSEN Daily News Staff

Published: Sunday, November 17, 2013 at 05:53 PM.

Want to go?

The Open Car and Truck Show will be Nov. 23 at Sanders Ford located at 1135 Lejeune Blvd. in Jacksonville. Registration begins at 9 a.m. and ends at 12:30 p.m. Judging begins at 2 p.m. and awards presentation begins at 4 p.m.

For more information, call Cassandra Humbert at Sanders Ford at 910-455-1911.

Her father Zach Jester said she wasn’t always that way. Before she was diagnosed with cancer earlier this year, he said she was a bashful little girl.

Now, months after intensive chemotherapy and multiple surgeries, Jester said his daughter is an inspiration to him.

“She’s one of the toughest little kids I know,” he said. “She is such a trooper. Most people tell me if it wasn’t for her hair falling out, you wouldn’t know she has cancer.”

When Mia was diagnosed with stage four neuroblastoma at the age of 17 months in February 2013, doctors found the cancer in her skull, spine, adrenal glands, and lymph nodes. It also was growing next to the superior vena cava.

“It’s been a rollercoaster ride,” Jester said, commenting that some days and weeks are better than others depending on how sick Mia is feeling that day. But Jester said they have a wonderful support system of family, friends and, also, his employer Sanders Ford, where he has been working for four and a half years as a service technician.

“They’ve bent over backwards for me and my family and they don’t have to do that,” he said. “They’ve really made me feel like family.”

Sanders Ford is hosting an Open Car and Truck Show on Nov. 23 to fundraise for Mia and the family’s medical expenses. Registration will begin at 9 a.m. and close at 12:30 p.m.

Cassandra Humbert, the business development manager at Sanders Ford and lead organizer of the fundraiser, said they are hoping to get 100 cars at the event.

It costs $20 to enter, and the judging will begin at 2 p.m.

“People in the car show will judge each other’s cars,” Humbert said, adding that the awards presentation will take place at 4 p.m.

All participants will receive dash plates, plus there will be awards for the top 25 cars, including awards for Best Chevy, Best Ford, Best MOPAR, Best Truck, Best Import, Sponsors Choice and Best in Show.

Humbert said they will also have vendors on site who will be selling products such as crafts. The vendors have paid for booth space, and Humbert said that money benefits the Jester family.

“Zach is an awesome employee,” Humbert said.

Humbert said the dealership has been trying to think of a way to raise money to help the family. The idea for the car and truck show was a collective idea.

“We encourage people to come out and show love for the community and share their support for the family,” she said.

When Mia’s mother and Jester’s fiancée April Norris learned about the fundraiser for their family, she said she was partly surprised, but not too surprised to hear about their efforts because of how helpful Sanders has been in the past.

“The fundraisers that Sanders has put on have really helped,” she said.

Shortly after Mia’s diagnosis, they held a gun raffle to benefit the family.

“I was absolutely grateful that they were doing it but I wasn’t shocked in the least bit,” Jester said, saying they have been extremely supportive ever since the diagnosis.

Norris said Mia, who is now two years old, is doing better after her eight rounds of intensive chemotherapy treatments. Neuroblastoma is a rare cancer found in children, according to Norris and Jester. Norris said approximately 600 children are diagnosed with the disease every year in the United States. As people get older, the chances of getting neuroblastoma are more rare, according to Jester.

The next step is in-home chemo for six months, which is currently on hold until she recovers from an infection which was caused by skin breakdown from the first few treatments of the in-home chemo.

“It’s shrinking, and we know it’s not going to happen overnight,” Norris said.

But Norris said they have hope. The doctors told her and Jester they think they can cure Mia.

Mia has undergone two surgeries so far: the first to get a chemotherapy line in her chest, receive a biopsy and to get bone marrow removed; the second, in October, which was called debulking.

“They tried to get out as much of the cancer as possible,” Norris said.

The second surgery was partly successful, because Norris said the doctors were able to remove a good portion of the cancer from the stomach. However, it was also partially unsuccessful because they had to leave some of the growth under the kidney, leave some small parts in the stomach and couldn’t remove the lymph nodes.

“Every little bit has brought us closer, but we’re not quite where we need to be,” Norris said. “We’re just asking for a miracle.”

Not only has the cancer taken a toll on Mia physically, it has wrought on the family emotionally, according to Norris.

Their oldest daughter Gracie, 10, is anxious for Mia, while 3-year-old, Lily, has reacted to the new way of life as well.

Norris said she and Jester do not like having to shuffle the children between grandparents so much while they head back and forth between their home in Holly Ridge and Duke where Mia receives her treatments.

She also said Jester has to miss work for Mia’s treatments, which hurts them financially because he is the sole breadwinner of the family.

One of the most difficult things for Norris was watching Mia lose her hair.

“I really felt like I was looking at the cancer,” she said.

But Norris said Mia has been feeling great lately because she has had a break from her chemo treatments while she recovers from her infection.

Norris takes Mia out when she can, on days when she is strong enough and when there isn’t a risk of her catching an infection.

She said she doesn’t know yet if they will be able to attend the fundraiser on Nov. 23.

“I never know what will be going on with Mia from day to day,” she said.

Even while she does in-home chemo, the family will still travel to Duke every couple weeks for Mia’s oncology appointments and various other treatments.

The fundraiser at Sanders Ford will directly benefit their medical expenses mostly, but also the traveling expenses to go from Holly Ridge to Duke.

Want to go?

The Open Car and Truck Show will be Nov. 23 at Sanders Ford located at 1135 Lejeune Blvd. in Jacksonville. Registration begins at 9 a.m. and ends at 12:30 p.m. Judging begins at 2 p.m. and awards presentation begins at 4 p.m.

For more information, call Cassandra Humbert at Sanders Ford at 910-455-1911.